Dissection of a Durham Bulls triple play — everything must be on schedule

By By Bob Sutton / Times-News

Published: Monday, May 6, 2013 at 12:54 AM.

“You don’t ever practice those,” he said. “Everything had to go right on schedule. Everything had to go perfect for it to work.”

For Gimenez, it was a strange feeling because he hit into a triple play on the Class A level with Lake County in the Cleveland Indians organization.

“That brought back bad memories,” he said. “But that’s pretty cool being on the other side.”

It marked only the second triple play for the Bulls at Durham Bulls Athletic Park since Class AAA play began there in 1998. The other one came Aug. 2, 2005, vs. the Norfolk Tides. That also was the most-recent triple play for the Bulls.

DURHAM — The first triple play for the Durham Bulls in almost eight years came mostly as a surprise to those on the field except for the guy who started it.

Cole Figueroa was planning on it.

“Every single time somebody gets on first and second, the first thing I think of is ‘triple play,’ ” said Figueroa, the third baseman. “It’s just something that always runs through my mind.”

And when the ball rolled to Figueroa off the bat of Toledo’s Bryan Holaday, it all went into motion.

Around the horn — and the Mud Hens were done with the sixth inning of a game before leaving on a recent road trip.

“First time I’ve been on the field and been a part of it,” said Bulls reliever Steve Geltz said. “I was freaking out I was so excited. We were going nuts in the dugout.”

Most of the Bulls were in full celebratory mode as they headed off the field in what became the team’s 5-4 International League victory at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Not Figueroa. After all, he planned for it this way.

“I kind of go over it in my head that I’m going to do it,” he said. “When it happened. I’m like, ‘Cool, it actually worked.’ ”

Figueroa fielded the sharp grounder and touched third base for the first out before throwing to second baseman Vince Belnome. Belnome’s relay to first baseman Chris Gimenez was in time to nab Holaday, a 25-year-old catcher.

Veteran manager Charlie Montoyo of the Bulls said he had never witnessed a triple play of that nature, saying it would more likely happen with a line drive that caught runners off base.

“I don’t remember seeing one on a ground ball,” Montoyo said. “When that ball was hit that way, it’s up to the third baseman. If he gives a good feed to the second baseman, which he did, you have a chance ... if it’s perfect.

“Of course, it doesn’t happen very often. Of course, it was huge.”

There wasn’t a chance to think about it as it was developing.

“I didn’t really have time to process it,” said Gimenez, who’s normally behind the plate as a catcher.

The situation was set up when Geltz, in his first inning of work, yielded a double to Ben Guez and a walk to Danny Dorn. At that point, Geltz said he was hoping to limit damage.

“There’s one. There’s two,” Geltz said in rehashing the sequence. “And I looked and I saw him (out at first base). I was hoping for two. But three, that was a bonus.”

Belnome played most of the first month of the season as a first baseman, but he was groomed as a second baseman earlier in his career.

Three innings before the triple play, Belnome blasted a grand slam. Yet it was the defensive work that might be the lasting memory.

“It just blew my mind when the triple play happened,” Belnome said. “I see the ball rolling so I’m thinking let’s just pull two here. Then I see Figgy go to the base and then I know I had to turn it. I’ve just got to do my job at second base and turn it.”

Even though Figueroa goes through those situations in his mind, it’s not part of the team’s preparation.

“You don’t ever practice those,” he said. “Everything had to go right on schedule. Everything had to go perfect for it to work.”

For Gimenez, it was a strange feeling because he hit into a triple play on the Class A level with Lake County in the Cleveland Indians organization.

“That brought back bad memories,” he said. “But that’s pretty cool being on the other side.”

It marked only the second triple play for the Bulls at Durham Bulls Athletic Park since Class AAA play began there in 1998. The other one came Aug. 2, 2005, vs. the Norfolk Tides. That also was the most-recent triple play for the Bulls.